1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of microphones, and the invention relates more particularly to microphones that are suitable for use in picking up sounds emitted from musical instruments.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional microphones, even of the highest quality, have a number of problems in general, and particularly when employed to pick up the sounds from some types of musical instruments. One problem frequently encountered with microphones, both in the miking of musical instruments and in other uses, is a vulnerability of conventional microphones to feedback from nearby speakers. Another general problem with conventional microphones is a cavity effect which results from a conventional practice of embodying a miniature pressure type condenser microphone in a larger generally hollow microphone body. There have been a variety of attempts to overcome this problem, including pouring foam material into the cavity. However, such attempts to cure the problem generally result in diminished microphone response characteristics.
A problem that frequently arises when a conventional microphone is employed to pick up the sounds of a particular musical instrument that is being played in a group with other instruments is that it is difficult and many times impossible to selectively pick up only the sounds of the one instrument without also picking up sounds from one or more of the other instruments. This problem is greatest where the output of the particular instrument that is being selectively miked is relatively low and other nearby instruments have a relatively high output level.
Special difficulties arise in attempts to use conventional microphones in connection with the harmonica and the accordion. The harmonica has a relatively low sound output level so that it is the normal practice for the player to hold a conventional microphone inside of his cupped hands. This makes it hard to play the harmonica, it produces an undesirable hand-shrouding or barrel effect involving loud volume increases, and the microphone will sometimes hit the harmonica and cause clinking noises. Also, with a conventional microphone thus held in the cupped hands of the player, the microphone will be closer to one part of the elongated harmonica reed bank than to others, thus undesirably emphasizing a limited range of notes. Attempts to mike a harmonica by attaching a conventional miniature microphone directly to the harmonica also result in undesirable emphasis of the sounds coming from a localized portion of the elongated reed bank. The hand-held conventional microphone is also undesirably sensitive to wind noise generated when the harmonica is being played.
The accordion is normally played in front of a stationary microphone, and the locations on the accordion from which the sounds emanate, as well as the movements that are required to play the accordion, result in generally poor microphone response. Thus, the sound comes primarily out of the ends of the accordion case, and these face away from the microphone when the player is facing the microphone in the usual way. Additionally, in actuating the bellows the player is repeatedly pulling the bass section of the accordion away from the microphone. Attempts to mike an accordion by attaching miniature pressure-type microphone capsules directly to the outside or inside of the accordion generally result in a very uneven response over the frequency range of the accordion, even with the use of an undesirably large number of such microphones distributed about the accordion.
The use of a conventional microphone to pick up the sounds of drums, and particularly snare or bass drums, also involves problems, including feedback problems, pickup of an undesirable amount of room ambience, and lack of presence.